Black Death
by Darth Kieduss the Wise
Summary: During a drive, Ruby reveals to Sam about her origins as a human and how she became a demon. Flashbacks set in Scotland during the Black Death of the 1300s.


**From 1346 to 1353, about 200 Million people were killed by **_**Yersinia Pestis**_**, a nasty little bug that causes Plague. Scottish words are in ****_italics_.**

Sam and Ruby were riding in a car. Two hours had passed by, with only the occasional trip to a gas station. Sam was still mourning Dean's death. Ruby tried to to comfort Sam but he was still mad as hell. But one day, everything changed.

"Ruby, what was your life like as a human?" Sam asked as he drove, completely out of the blue.

"What?" Ruby said, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You said you were human once," Sam said, then glanced at her through the corner of his eye. "And that you know what it was like to lose someone."

"Sam, I don't want to talk about it," Ruby said, looking back at the road.

"Why?"

"First, I hardly remember it," Ruby said sternly. "Second, what I do remember is very painful."

"Ruby, come on," Sam said. "We got a twelve hour drive. I'm just curious about your life as a human. Besides, how painful could it have been?"

"You wanna know about my life as a human?" Ruby snapped, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. "I was a scared little Scottish girl living through the Black Death! People were dying every day. Dropping like flies, or fleas since it was caused by those little bastards. The plague was infecting Europe, killing millions of people and no one could stop it. Half of my family was wiped out!"

"I'm...I'm sorry, Ruby," Sam said, horrified and regretful. "I didn't know. I'm sorry I asked. If you don't wanna talk about it, I understand."

After a few moments of silence, Ruby opened up.

"I was about 13 when the plague hit. 1347. My family lived in Edinburgh, Scotland. We were...the average family. Happy, Catholic..."

EDINBURGH, KINGDOM OF SCOTLAND  
>1347<p>

Ruby MacAlasdair awoke to the now common wails of grief and misery. People were dropping like flies every day. Some illness was infecting all of Europe, not just Scotland and no one knew how to combat it. Mothers weeped for their dead sons and daughters. Children wept for their parents. Husbands and wives anguished over the departure of their spouses.

She pushed her red hair back as she sat up and took a moment to pray to God for her family. Some people, unable to find answers for the plague, began to think it was God's punishment for all the sin on Earth.

"Kind God, I beg that Your anger may cease," she prayed as she did every day. "That You do not destroy sinners in this way and that You do not allow the just to be condemned with the unjust."

The previous night, she had walked home from town with food. Her wide eyes were filled with fear and sadness as she saw dead bodies lying all around the village. She stifled a sob when she would see young children like her lying on the ground, some in a twisted position. Some had their knees bent and their necks in an awkward position. Some looked like they had just fallen from the sky, their bodies just limp, twisted, broken. Such was the number of victims that there were no more hallowed ground in which to bury the dead. Corpses laid abandoned. Bodies were buried hundreds at time in plague pits.

Ruby's father and older brother were but two of them.

Today, lying in her bed, she could hear her neighbor Keith cursing David II, the current King of Scotland. He was a paranoid man who thought the Scottish government was out to get him. Now he was convinced that the King himself was behind the Black Death.

"David, you damn _Bas_!" he screamed. "You fucking tyrant! I'll kill for this, you fucking _jobby heid_! You are a genocidal mass murdering maniac! I'll stab you in the face!"

"SHUT...YER...GOB!" Ruby yelled through the walls. "_Great eejit_! Shut up! I'm sick of your paranoid _jobby_!"

"Ruby!" a woman called.

Grunting in frustration at the paranoid man, she got up to see her mother in the next room. She was lying in her bed, pale as a baby seahorse. Blisters and boils had appeared on her arms, legs and necks. Her boils had grown to the size of a walnut, then to the size of a hen's egg. And it was exceedingly painful. In most cases, those infected had died within four days. But Ruby's mother was strong. She had lasted two weeks.

"_Mither_, how are you doing?"

"_Bairn_, I fear I don't have long," she said, before coughing up blood. Breath squeezing in and out against a raw throat and tight chest, she tried to look at her daughter. She reached up and wiped a tear off Ruby's face, then held her cheek. "Don't be sad, _wean_."

"Mother, how can I not be sad?" Ruby asked. "_Faither_ and Douglas are dead. You're dying. People are dying everywhere. The world is coming to an end."

"If it is my time, then it is my time to go," her mother replied. "If I live, that's God will. If I don't, again, God's will."

"Mother, I wish I had your zeal. You have the patience of stone and the will of stars."

Her mother smiled. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, _mither_."

"Go get your sisters, it's time to pray."

A hour later, Ruby was outside, weeping for her family, when a woman approached. She had short black hair, tan smooth skin and hazel brown eyes. She wore a necklace that had a purple jem.

"Who are you?" Ruby asked

"I am Astaroth," the woman said. "And I can help you."

"How? What do you want?"

"I can save you and your family from certain death."

"How?" Ruby asked, hope beginning to actually flow through her.

"Come," Astaroth said, waving her to follow.

The back of Ruby's mind told her not to follow. But she was desperate. Her family was dying. She loved her family and she'd do anything to save what was left of them. She followed.

"How can you save my mother and sisters?"

"Have you ever heard of magic, Ruby?" Astaroth asked Ruby.

"What? Yes, everyone has. Why? What does that have to do with my family?"

Astaroth shrugged. "Oh, I just thought that maybe it would be able to save your mother and sisters."

"How can magic save my family?" Ruby said, confused. "Magic is forbidden. It's...wrong. Forbidden by God."

"God," Astaroth snarled, unable to hide her disgust. "How can you serve a God that has allowed millions of people to die?"

"God exists to shine a light in the dark," the devout Catholic responded. "Do you know magic?"

"Oh, yes, I do," Astaroth said, continuing their stroll.

"How do you know of it?"

"My mentor taught me everything he knew, enough the nature of witches."

"What? Witches?"

"Yes."

"Who was your mentor?"

Astaroth smiled. "Lucifer."

Ruby stopped in front of Astraoth. "You serve Satan?"

"Ruby, if one is to understand the great mystery, one must study all its aspects, not just the narrow, dogmatic view of the Christians. If you wish to become a complete and wise leader like me, you must embrace a larger view of the universe."

The two started to circle each other.

"Be careful of the Catholics, Ruby. Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any person. Learn to know the power of witch craft and you will be able to save your family from certain death."

"What did you say?" Ruby said, barely containing her eyes. Rage coursed through her veins.

"Use my knowledge of knowledge. I beg you."

Ruby pulled out a knife, which she always carried with her. She had customized it herself. Her own design.

"You're a witch!"

"I know what's been troubling you, Ruby. Listen to me. Don't continue to a be a pawn of the Catholic Church! I've known people like you longer than you know. You have been seeking a life of great significance, far more than any person."

Ruby struggled to comprehend what was happening. She knew what Astaroth wanted in exchange for her family's salvation. Her soul.

"Are you going to try to kill me?"

"I would certainly like to!" Ruby said sternly, but the 10 Commandments would not let her. But then she remembered Exodus 22:18 _Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live._ But that was still killing. Dark clouds started to swarm her mind.

"I know you would," Astaroth whispered, as if she was getting a high off of Ruby's emotions. "I can feel your anger. Your hatred for me."

Astaroth turned to face the frightened, angry girl.

"Give your soul to me, girl. Join me. There is no escape from the plague."

"I can't. You're a witch. An abomination against God."

"Are you sure about that?" Astaroth said, approaching the girl.

"Get back, witch!" Ruby yelled, backing up. "GET BACK!"

"Ah, yes. Good, good. Unleash your anger on me," Astaroth laughed. "I will teach you what your _God _could not."

"You don't have anything to teach me, haggard!"

"The darkness is too strong for you, Ruby. It is swallowing you up, even now. Unless you give your soul to me, you will lose everything."

"No."

"Your mother will die."

"No!"

"Your friends and family will die and everything you've hoped for will be lost. This is the way the story ends."

"NO!"

Astaroth laughed, until she noticed Ruby had closed her eyes. But not of grief or despair. It was Rage. When her eyes opened, even a powerful one like Astaroth stepped back. She had seen several potential witches, but the rage in Ruby's eyes disturbed even her.

Letting out a scream of unadulterated fury, Ruby charged at Astaroth, blade angled for the kill.

Astaroth raised her hand and everything went black.

PRESENT

"What happened after that?" Sam asked as they stopped at a gas station.

"I don't remember," Ruby said. "I don't wanna talk about it right now anymore. Maybe later."

"I understand. Ruby, whenever you're ready. So am I."

"Thanks, Sam. I just...it was a very different time."

"I know. Let's get something to eat."

**Review.**


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